


100 Themes Challenge (Batter/Zacharie)

by non_binary_kitsune



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: 100 Themes Challenge, Blood, First Kiss, M/M, This Is STUPID, Zacharie honey no, challenge, domestic AU, injuries, monster au, scarred Zacharie, tags will be added as i go along, temporary agender Batter, there will be spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 02:35:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3878914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/non_binary_kitsune/pseuds/non_binary_kitsune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A 100 Themes Challenge for the ship of the Batter and Zacharie to get me back into writing so I can write much better stuff. I should post a chapter per day, or maybe more if I actually get something done. Each chapter will have its own theme, rating, and warnings, which will be in the notes section. Tags will be added as I go along because I have no idea what will happen and I'm also likely to not go in order. AUs will happen, and the only guarantee for anything is that the first and last chapters will happen in game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme: Beginnings  
> Rating: General Audiences  
> Warnings: N/A  
> \---  
> Zacharie meets his new customer.

In the beginning, there was a child. This child, for some reason or another, wanted to escape from something. Why, and from what? Don't ask me. I'm simply the merchant. Granted, I know more than your average video game merchant, but being self-aware doesn't automatically make you omnipotent or all-knowing, my friend. Continuing with the story, the child, named Hugo, created himself a father and a mother. 

The mother was called "Vader Eloha", and appeared as a tall and graceful woman of gray and white whose face held no features. She in turn created three Guardians to protect each of three Zones in what was to be our world. However, this mother was often too busy with creating our universe to tend to Hugo, and left him in the care of the Guardians. Oh, the irony of neglecting your son while working for his happiness. 

The father would visit the boy at times, though Hugo did not enjoy his father nearly as much as his beloved Vader Eloha. His father gave him medicine, and kept him from going outside. He gave him a comic he didn't particularly enjoy, in which the villain, the Ballman, overpowered the hero. This father was called only "The Batter", and for some reason, he is now setting off on a "sacred mission" to "purify" the Zones under the direction of a puppeteer. Unfortunately, that is the only information I am aware of at the moment, though the game will surely code more into my memory as time goes on.

And so I wait here, in this small room in the smoke mines of Zone 1, the yellow cube that will heal and save the game for our protagonist floating in front of me to my left. The sounds of a battle are in the next room, and my hand slips up to my mask, adjusting it slightly and falling back to my side as the script comes to mind.

After another moment more of fighting, there's a pause, and then footsteps. A tall, lean man rounds the corner, bloodied baseball bat in hand and a hoop of light I assume is his Add-On floating behind him. One of his most obvious features is his attire. A baseball uniform..? Ah, that would make sense, I suppose. The Ballman from the comic. The boy's negative views of his father must have been translated into his dress and weapon. His skin, in contrast to Vader's gray tone, is as blank as the specters he purifies. A black baseball cap covers neatly kept hair, almost as pale as his skin, and shades eyes that are frozen and emotionless, save for the shred of blind determination I notice as he approaches. His facial structure is all angles and edges, sharp and piercing and far too perfect to be human. It's quite intriguing, to be honest, dismissing the aura of cold intimidation.

He pauses as he enters the room, his puppeteer eyeing me warily, then is pushed toward me and forced to interact. The script flows smoothly, without effort, into text on the screen.

"The characters are starting to pile up, aren't they?"

You can practically see the question marks in his expression. A confused pause on behalf of his puppeteer. "Pardon?"

"What I'm saying is that the average player doesn't need all these complicated and tedious dialogues," I explain. "There should be more action and fewer questions."

"Who are you?" The tall man asks, seeming more curious than he'd like to let on. The puppeteer isn't the only curious one, I see.

"I'm Zacharie, the traditional items merchant that's necessary in every video game." One can only imagine the puppeteer's confusion at another self-aware character appearing. Oh, my dear player, you're in for one hell of a game. "I'll always find myself in places you're going to visit before you arrive. But enough blether. I'm not one of those protagonists you need to listen to for hours. So, lemme see the color of your credits."

There's a moment's hesitation before the tap of the keyboard allows me to continue. I shrug my backpack off of my shoulders and bare the contents to the player. "Need anything in particular?" 

Five Luck tickets, an Aura of Justice, a Nicolas Tunic, and a Radius Epidermis (or, in total, 530 credits) later, I'm watching the Batter save the game as I sort the currency and pack my wares. The man appears to be quite stoic and prefers not to waste words, though his puppeteer tried to get me to talk of something other than wares a few times to no avail. He's tugged a couple of steps in my direction once more, his eyes regarding my mask in silent disdain, before the player decides they're done here and leads him through the door and out of the room to the post office.

I sigh behind my mask, adjusting it again out of habit and turn to look at the door the Batter exited. I hear the Elsen in the next room stuttering away about the importance of plastic. The poor guy must be terrified. A tall, intimidating man who claims he can purify specters isn't normal, after all. So this was to be my customer, eh? I shake my head and take a different pathway than the player in order to make it to the secret floor, in case they're clever enough to find me there.

This might be a longer game than I had anticipated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you actually like my trash, please let me know in some way. I need motivation, guys. ;-;


	2. Spell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Modern Domestic AU  
> While the day starts out no different than any other, a spell not taken seriously enough causes some drama for Zacharie and the Batter.  
> (Wow this sounds like a really cheesy, cheaply-made romcom summary. But domestic life is my weakness and I will not apologize.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme: Spell  
> Rating: Teen and Up Audiences  
> Warnings: N/A

It had started out as such a normal morning. 

The Batter had awoken from his sleep to an empty space beside him, but the smell of some sort of breakfast coming from the kitchen assured him that he was far from alone. After pulling on a pair of pants and half-heartedly combing his fingers through his hair, he was walking down the hall and toward the faint humming he knew belonged to his partner. 

The mentioned partner, Zacharie, was without his mask at the moment, a sight that the Batter found more and more often as the time they had spent together stretched over the months. The toad-featured mask itself rested on the counter beside him. Without the man behind it, it seemed so much less familiar, more alien and harder to believe that someone would find comfort in wearing such an odd visor.

In the moment the Batter took observing the mask, Zacharie noticed his approach. The humming stopped and his hand automatically twitched in the direction of the mask, but then relaxed and fell back into the task of plating what would be their breakfast. His eyes remained on the Batter just a bit longer. "Sleep well, mi amor?" 

"Please do not cause yourself discomfort for the sake of letting me see your face." Batter opened the pantry to grab syrup after noting the pancakes on the plates. Zacharie was quite fond of drowning his pancakes.

"I'll take that as a 'yes, of course, Zacharie, I slept spectacularly.'" The man grinned slightly at his poor impression of his boyfriend.

The Batter got the message that this was not the time for this discussion. It was early, and he was aware that Zacharie had purposely been wearing the mask less and less to try and break the habit. He had yet to even consider going out in public mask-less, but just these short times without it was major progress. To Zacharie, putting the mask on was a way of indirectly giving up.

The taller man set the bottle of syrup on the table and moved to ruffle the shorter's dark mess of hair. "Yes, of course, Zacharie, I slept spectacularly." He said sarcastically, pushing Zacharie's head to the side a bit when his boyfriend chuckled. He couldn't hide a small smirk of his own. "Are you appeased?"

"Absolutely. Now, take this before it gets cold." The salesman shoved a plate into his hands and the two moved to the table. As they began to have their morning meal, Zacharie flipped open a book that had been laying on the table, unseen by the previously unconcerned Batter.

"What is that?"

"Some book that Sugar found. She thought it sounded interesting and gave it to me." Zacharie raised an eyebrow. "Apparently it's a spell book."

The Batter frowned, pausing in his eating. "As in... Magic spells?"

"Uhhh..." Zacharie thumbed through a few more pages. "Yeah, it appears so."

"Why would she think you would find something such as that interesting?" The baseball player took another bite of the pancakes as he waited for the answer.

"Who knows," he sighed, going back to the beginning of the book to look for a table of contents. "It's Sugar. Her thought process is an enigma." Some spell seemed to capture his attention, and he flipped to a page somewhere near the middle of the book.

".....Are you actually going to try them?" Batter asked, eying his partner. If Zacharie started needing things like eyes of newts and blood sacrifices then there might be a problem. Yes, he loved the man, but...

"Try them? More like make jokes out of them." The salesman grinned, looking up from the page.

"Alright then..." The Batter shook his head slightly and went back to his pancakes. Let the boy have his fun. He looked amused enough as he muttered some words to himself, holding a glass of milk in his hand and sipping from it occasionally. Though he couldn't make them out, the tone they were read in was dripping with sarcasm. Who knew, right? There could be a good laugh out of this dumb book ye-

Zacharie's glass crashed to the floor. The Batter's head snapped up and he was immediately standing up, scanning the area where Zacharie had been. ... Had been..? Where the hell was Zacharie? The man had disappeared, but his clothes remained. Oh god, what kind of spell had he been reading?

The Batter strode to the book, eyes frantically searching the page. It was a spell for turning someone into a toad. He held in the urge to laugh in disbelief. Of course Zacharie would find that funny. But wait. If his clothes were still here, but Zacharie wasn't in them, and he had read the spell, then...

A hesitant, distressed croak came from the pile on the chair.

The Batter slowly reached for Zacharie's shirt, lifting it up. Sure enough, there was a toad, looking quite confused and more than a little alarmed by his situation.

"...Zacharie?"

That drew the amphibian's attention, getting a croak of response.

"My boyfriend is a toad." The Batter mumbled, carefully picked up Zacharie, cupping him in his hands with the most concerned expression he has probably ever made. Because what the hell do you do when your boyfriend reads a spell out of a dirty old book and turns himself into a toad? He had signed up for a man in a toad mask, not an actual toad. How do you even take care of a toad?

The toad leapt from his hands onto the table, landing awkwardly on his face and making noises that probably translated into some choice Spanish curses as the Batter's hands hovered near him protectively. "Did you at least read how to reverse it before you read it?"

The silence answered for Zacharie while he moved with a mixture of hopping and crawling toward the book.

The Batter himself read the page. Once, twice, again. No mention of a cure. Oh no. This wouldn't do. No, there was no way in hell he was living with Zacharie as a toad. He was not qualified to effectively raise small animals. And who would be there to make food that wasn't either inedible or likely to poison one or both of them? It was also highly unorthodox to date toads, he was sure. And if something were to happen? If he were to step on him, or if he were to get out and a cat were to kill him? He'd never forgive himself. Zacharie was going to be human again if that was the last thing the Batter were to do.

He took his phone from his pocket and opened up Google. There had to be some crazy person out there who knew or claimed to know something about this. His typing was interrupted by an annoyed noise from on the table.

Zacharie bounced up and down, prompting the Batter to pick him up. "Have you figured this out?"

The toad paused, then croaked uncertainly. He leaned in towards the Batter's face. When the man caught onto the plot, he frowned. "You aren't a frog. And it's a fairytale."

If there was ever any doubt of a toad being able to deadpan, it was erased at that moment. Zacharie opened his mouth, giving out a long, drawn out croak.

"Fine, fine. We can try it." The Batter paused, then pecked the toad on the mouth. A moment of suspense.

Nothing.

"And it did not wor-" The Batter was cut off as the toad was replaced with something much larger than a toad, and he was forced to move his hands and catch Zacharie under his arms.

"You spoke too soon, my friend."

"You are not wearing clothes."

Zacharie blinked, then glanced down. "Huh. Guess not." His move to free himself from his place lifted a few inches off the ground was denied when he was held against the Batter in a hug.

"We are burning the book."

Zacharie began to argue. "Maybe we could just give it ba-"

"Burning it."

"...Fine."


	3. Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monster AU (with agender Batter)  
> An unexpected encounter between old friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme: Woods  
> Rating: Teen and Up Audiences  
> Warnings: Blood, injuries

"You've gotten yourself in trouble again, haven't you?"

The crumpled heap on the ground didn't respond. A minute or so passed in near silence. The woods were quiet tonight. A gentle nudge from the speaker's foot prompted them to at least shift position, moving further into the shadows of the underbrush.

"I knew you weren't dead. Trying to trick me won't work."

".....And how were you so sure that I was not deceased?" The being finally asked, sitting up, but keeping their head turned away so that the moonlight couldn't catch their face. The rough, wet rasping of their voice caused the first speaker to wince behind his toad-like mask.

"You're too stubborn for that, my dear friend." He knelt beside the pathway, pulling his bag from his back and untying his lantern from it. He set the currently dark light source beside him and rummaged through his bag as the creature watched him.

"And how were you so sure that it was I?" They questioned. "We have not crossed paths in several months, Zacharie. I could have been anyone. You could have been talking to a bandit, or perhaps a vagabond, or maybe even a wild animal."

"Well, that would have been quite an embarrassing mistake on my part, wouldn't it?" Zacharie chuckled, pulling a box from the pack. He drew a small stick from the box and scraped one end against the side of the box before returning the container to the bag. The being across from him jerked back at the small flame that appeared, accompanied by the smell of sulfur. When the lantern was lit, it was the man's turn to be surprised. His "dear friend" appeared more injured than he had first assumed. Dried blood crusted over wounds to their head and neck and sealed one of their four eyes closed. The crimson stains around their lips gave explanation to the quality of their voice. Their clothing was tattered, shredded by angry hands, and showed what could easily have been stab wounds. An alarming amount of blood was on the ground around them, and the lamplight let Zacharie finally notice the effort they were exerting to even stay upright, let alone speak. He reached out to them without thinking, his hand brushing against bruised cheekbone before his friend moved back. "Batter... What did you get yourself into this time..?"

The creature's three working eyes stared uncertainly at the offered touch, then to the masked man. They finally leaned back in, scooting closer to him with a clearly pained expression and resting their cheek against Zacharie's hand. "There was a village. Full of impure people." Zacharie let his hand slide into Batter's matted hair as they spoke, fingers working carefully through tangles, dirt, and blood. "They... Were truly vile creatures... Gambling. Cheating. Stealing. Getting drunk and committing horrid acts of adultery."

Zacharie moved back to his bag again, leaving the Batter leaning into empty air for a moment. "And let me guess. You tried to correct their ways."

"That is correct."

A vial was produced from the bag. Zacharie held it to the lantern, raising his mask over his eyes and squinting to read the label. "And they decided you were not one to talk. And perhaps your appearance was... Unwelcome." He offered the vial to the Batter.

The creature spent a moment watching their friend's face when it was revealed, nearly waiting a beat too long to take the vial. "...That is also correct." After a quick examination of the label for themselves, they uncorked the small glass container and drained the liquid from it. Zacharie took the object from their hands when they started to cough; the foul substance had left a horrendous taste in their mouth and seemed to clog their throat with slime. Despite the taste and the now burning pain that seared through their body, they were grateful as they felt the open gashes that had gathered dirt and drying blood close up and leave only scars in their wake. After a clearing of their throat, their voice also became clearer and less labored. "Thank you, Zacharie."

"Not a problem, Batter." The traveling merchant nodded and began to lower his mask once more. The Batter, however, reached to grip his wrist. Their strength was beginning to return to them, but the gesture was hesitant and soft.

"Could you, perhaps, keep your visor raised? I prefer to see the faces of those to whom I speak. And yours is one I have not seen in a while." Their dark eyes were lowered to stare at the heart stitched to the man's shirt. "I find comfort in a friendly face, especially in times such as these."

Zacharie obliged almost immediately, raising the mask up and completely from his head, setting it on the ground near them. "Of course. You have only but to ask, my friend."

A slight smile touched the corners of the Batter's mouth, and they released their hold on Zacharie's wrist. "Thank you." 

A gentle silence settled over them while the creature regained their strength and the merchant kept them company. The Batter had become lost in their thoughts, of how lucky they were to have been found by Zacharie of all people, and was started from them when their friend spoke up.

"What do you plan to do now, if you don't mind my inquiry?"

The Batter merely blinked at Zacharie, unsure of their response. What did they plan to do..? Wandering like this had only brought them trouble, as their odd appearance seemed to attract only negativity and fear. Their attempts to help bring purity to these misled children of corruption were also mostly in vain. "I... Do not know..."

"Hmm." The merchant rested his elbow on his knee, and his chin in his hand. "Well, I wouldn't object to a helper. If we kept you disguised, you wouldn't draw much attention to yourself. And when I return to my shop, then you could always work behind closed doors. Your safety would be my utmost concern, of course."

The Batter perked up. "You would allow me to accompany you?"

"If you were up to the task." Zacharie gave a knowing grin. He knew that his friend would follow. 

The creature nodded. "I am absolutely up to the task."

"Very well," The small man chuckled. "I welcome you to the life of a traveling merchant, my dear Batter."


	4. Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Modern AU  
> Zacharie decides that he's kept the Batter waiting for long enough. Though he isn't ready to show his face completely, there is another thing that he can allow.  
> (I know, I know, this has been done many times before. But I will write it my way anyways. Fight me.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme: Dark  
> Rating: Teen and Up Audiences  
> Warnings: This might make your heart hurt a little because ow emotions; scars

The movie Zacharie had picked for them to watch in order to kill time seemed to go by much faster than he had remembered it. He hoped that the Batter wasn't intent on seeing the ending because if this went as planned, then the ending would go unseen. He drew in a slow breath. This really shouldn't be that difficult. The Batter had known him for over two years and had not once scorned nor ridiculed him for the decision of wearing a mask or for any other decision regarding his appearance, so why should he be afraid to let him finally see what he had been hiding? He released his breath in a nearly silent sigh. This wasn't even going to be showing him. But this was as far as he was willing to go for now.

"Batter?"

The taller man turned to look at him without much hesitation. It seemed that the movie had indeed done its job of not capturing his attention. "Zacharie?"

"...We've been together for five months, haven't we?"

The Batter's expression became questioning. "Yes. Is there a reason you're asking?"

"Ah, yes, mi amor." Zacharie glanced at the movie still playing on the television. "Five months... That seems to be an unreasonable amount of time, along with the years we have simply been on friendly terms, for you to not know what lies under this mask, don't you think?"

This question caught the taller man off guard. It was not often that the mask was spoken of, and when it was, it was usually a delicate situation. "...Though I admit to curiosity, your comfort is more important than my interest."

Zacharie shook his head slightly. "You should at least have an idea." He muted the movie and shifted his position on the couch to face his boyfriend completely. "We can strike a deal."

The Batter slowly moved to face him as well, his expression cautious. "And that deal would be?"

"I'll turn off the TV. Neither of us will be able to see. But I'll... Allow you to feel my face." Zacharie picked his words carefully, half hoping that the Batter would accept and half hoping he'd decline and they could both forget that this was ever mentioned.

The Batter waited a long moment, eyes analyzing every facet of the mask as though it were a facial expression he could decipher if he only looked hard enough. "I would be honored if you would allow me this opportunity." Was his final response.

"No need to act so formal about it," Zacharie chuckled, but nervousness shone through enough to betray his emotions. The remote in his hand shook as the power button was pressed and the room was plunged into complete shadows. The time of midnight kept the sun from intruding and drawn curtains kept streetlights from reaching through to them. He fumbled a bit with the strings that held the visor to his face before setting it on a small table beside the couch with a quiet click. The shorter man took the Batter's hands in his own, for a second simply holding them. "Please... If you want to say anything about my face, then just... Don't. It's better that you just keep anything you have the urge to mention to yourself."

"...Very well."

At this cue to continue, Zacharie brought the hands to his face.

The Batter, at first, didn't move, as though the action of feeling was something he was not familiar with, or something he was uncertain of. Then he explored. Thumbs ran carefully over cheeks and then down, taking in the rough scarring at the corners of his mouth. The cool, slender fingers then felt over his nose, pausing for only the slightest of seconds at the deep gash on the bridge, then over eyelids that had fallen closed with the lightest of touches. Over eyebrows that had breaks in unusual places and a forehead that had a haphazard pattern etched into its skin. At last, one hand slipped back into dark locks of hair while the other traveled back down to his chin, gently thumbing over its cleft and up to his lips. This is where the Batter stopped, one hand cupping Zacharie's face as the other held him in place. The salesman was sure that his significant other could hear the unevenness of his breath, could feel the erratic nature of his pulse and the way he swallowed when the thumb brushed over his scarred lips with more care than he had believed to even be possible. There was movement, as though the man was moving closer.

He felt a small jolt of shock when lips pressed against his forehead, their warmth a stark difference from the Batter's always chilled hands. The closeness allowed Zacharie's shaking breaths to breathe in the scent of his partner, a smell that brought both calm familiarity and a stirring of emotion. A silent sigh stirred his hairline as the Batter moved back, and somehow it still came as a surprise when his chin was lifted up at a steeper angle and the lips again touched his skin. At the corners of his mouth, where the scarring was the heaviest and most disfiguring, then his own quivering lips. 

A sharp intake of air from the shorter caused the Batter to almost reconsider, pulling away in the slightest, but Zacharie's hand on his arm and the way the man leaned up to meet him seemed to erase any thoughts of backing away. Zacharie was not planning on letting his boyfriend stop this moment from fear of making Zacharie uncomfortable. For over a year he had waited for this. For over a year he had wanted to rip off that mask and lock lips with this fool and he'd be damned if he let his insecurities over his face get in the way when it finally happened. The hand on the Batter's arm tightened its grip and the other came up to ball into a fist in the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. The Batter dropped the hand from Zacharie's face to snake around his waist, the other still caught in his hair.

A tender conversation without words; a subtle exchanging of breaths and quiet noises. The surge of electricity that danced between them with every contact of skin on skin was not visible, but certainly palpable in the air around them.

The firm press of Zacharie's hand against the Batter's chest drew the moment to a close, leaving the two staring through the dark to where they hoped the other was.

"That..." Began Zacharie, his breathing certainly more labored than it had been only a few minutes before. "Was not expected, my dear Batter..."

"I could say the same." Was the Batter's response, mumbled into the dark with the same breathiness and vague, barely noticeable trace of giddiness that Zacharie possessed.

"...I do not object to it by any means, but perhaps that is enough for now..."

Zacharie could see a vague outline of the Batter, since his eyes had adjusted to the dark over time. The outline nodded, then seemed to remember it was dark and added, "If that is what you so prefer."

"It is." The shorter man had regained the ability to breathe evenly and reached for his mask, tying the string behind his head and then pressing the power button on the remote to bring light into the room once more. The light coloring on the Batter's pale skin made him grin. It wasn't often that his beloved's skin would flush, and often it was amusing to watch him try to hide it. He was not trying to hide this time.

"I think we missed the end of the movie."


End file.
